slater



E. J. SLATER Aug. 26, 1952 TEXTILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF' KNITTING THE SAME Filed May 6, 1950 .M 2. El

i e y fe s Patented Aug. 26, 1952 TEXTILE yFABRIC AND METHOD F KNITTING THE SAME EdwardJ. Slater, Port Jervis, N. Y., assigner to Gehring Textiles, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation `of New York, and Chantex, Inc., Port Jervis, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 6, 1950, Serial No. 160,456

' 1 The present invention relates to a textile fabric 'and the method of knitting the same. It relates, more particularly, to a fabric knit from nylon yarn and the method -of knitting such fabric.. Y y I f I An object of the present invention is'to pro- Vide a fabric knit from yarns of nylon or similar material which has a iilmy or misty appearance and a texture similar to a crepe de Chine in con; trast to the smooth texture and sheer character of fabrics knit in the usualmanner'from such yarns. Another object of the present invention is to provide a fabric knit from nylon yarns which will drape or hang in a graceful and attractive' manner when finished and which is' suitable for use in articles of clothing. The ilmy vor misty appearance of the present fabric vand its crepelike texture make it especially desirable for use in garments such as womens blouses, bridalveils or the like and various-designs may be incorporated vin the fabric which also give it a novel and' attractive appearance. f i

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent and best understood from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which: l

Fig. 1 is Ia kpictorial representation of a piece of a fabric embodying the invention; and I Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration showingthe-construction of the fabric shown in Fig, l on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings in detail, afabric 20, knit in accordance with the present invention is shown in Fig. l. The fabric 20 has a background or body portion, indicated generally at 2 I, and a design or pattern formed thereon by the areas indicated at 22. The design areas 22 are slightly raised with respect to the background or'body 2l of the .fabric and are somewhat more opaque 'than' the surrounding portions of. the backgroundor body 2 I. However, the entire fabric has acrepe-like'texture and a lmy or misty appearance.-

In knitting the fabric 20, nylon thread or yarn of the type customarily used for knitting sheer fabrics may be employed; i. e., yarn which has 12 claims. (o1. fsa-195) not been treated or spun prior to the knitting Y thereof so as to change or affect theetextureof the fabric knit therefrom. The fabric 2Q isaatknit fabric and may be knit in accordance with the presentinvention on a two-bar knitting machine of the tricot type in which yarns or threads are knit on both sides of -the fabric. Such machines are well known and their operation need not be described in detail here.

For clarity, the details of the manner, in which the fabric 20 is knit are shown on 'an enlarged scale in Fig. 2, and the knitted loops of yarn are shown in lan expanded condition approximating the manner in which they would appear as they are formed on the needles of the knitting machine. However, it Will be .understood that this illustration is diagrammatic and that when the loops are released from lthe needles after being knittedin accordance with the present invention, the knitted loops will beA drawn together and the fabric will have a lmy transparency and a crepe-like texture. Y v For convenient reference, the courses of'a portion of the fabric 20 shown in Fig. 2 have beenidentified by the reference numerals l through'- are knit with the back-ground yarns at spaced' groups of wales and in spaced groups of courses forming lthe design areas 22 on the background.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the yarns 23 for the background are fed at the back bar of the machine. These background or back-bar threads 23 are fedat each thread-feeding position of the back bar and are knit inthe same manner as the customary front-bar stitch for a jerseyV fabric; i. e., with one needle or Wale being skipped or traversed by the threads in alternate directions in succeeding courses on each move of the pattern Wheel.

The threads 24 for the design areas are knit on therfa-ce of the fabric 20 and are fed at the front bar of the machine. In ythe illustrated embodiment, the threads 24d through 241 are fed at six thread-feeding positions of the front bar, respectively, and then are omitted for six threadfeeding positions of the front bar across the width of the fabric. By this arrangement the front-bar threads are fed and knit with the backbar threads in spaced groups of wales. However,

l forming the pattern or design on the face of the that this description Will also apply to the other front-bar threads. Y Y v Y Starting at the first position, ofthe pattern wheel (see the lower part of Fig. 2), the frontbar thread 24a is knit with the background thread 23 at Wale 32 in course I of the fabric. At the second position of the pattern wheel, the frontbar thread 24a traverses one Wale 3I to the left (in a direction opposite tothe back-bar thread) and is-knit at an alternate Wale in course 2 of the fabric. At the third position of the pattern wheel, the thread 24a vtraverses the previously traversed -wale 3| to the right and is knitrat the rst Wale 32 in course 3. For the following five moves :or positions of the pattern wheel, the front-bar thread 24a is floated across the ve courses 4, 5, 6, 1, yand 8. In addition to being floated across these courses,rthe thread 24a is traversed three wales 33, 34, and 35 to the right'and at the ninth position of the pattern wheel, the thread 24a is knit at Wale 36 in course 9 of thefabric. At the tenth position of the pattern wheel, the thread 24a traverses one Wale 35 to the leftl and is knit at Wale 34 in course ID. At vvthe eleventh position of the pattern Wheel, the thread 24a traverses the one Wale 35 to the right and is knit at the Wale 36 in course II. VThus, the yarns 24 are knit with the background yarns in spaced series of courses and at groups of Wales in each series of courses which are offset with respect to the wales at which said threads are knit in thepreceding series of courses.

At the next ve positions of the pattern Wheel, the front-bar thread 24a is floated across courses I2, I3, I4, I5, and I5 and'is traversed three wales 33, 34, and 35 to the left' on the nextve moves of the pattern Wheel. This completes one cycle of operation of the sixteen-move pattern Wheel andreturns the thread`24a. to the Wale 32 at which it was knit in course I. At the first position of the .pattern Wheel in the next cycle, the front-bar thread 24a will again be knit at the Wale 32 and thereafter the above procedure is repeated. Thus, the front-bar threads 24 extend diagonally in alternate directions between the offset series of courses along the length of the fabric.

The arrangement of the pattern wheel may also be changed to vary the number of courses in each series of courses or to vary the spacing of the series of courses in which the front-bar threads 24k are knit.r However, it is important that this arrangement be such that for each cycle of the pattern mechanism or repetitive portionrof the design in the fabric that the normal length of the front-bar threads 24 should be less than half and preferably one-quarter thelnormal lengthrof the background threads in a given length of fabric. This results in the loops of the fabric `being drawn together .and

- gives the fabric its. mistyV or filmy appearance and crepe-like texture.

In the particular fabric illustrated and described herein, the front-bar threads 24 are fed under tension and elongated to such an extent that their normal length bears a ratio in the neighborhood of one to four with respect to the lengthof the threads 23 fed at the back bar in a. given'length of the knitted fabric. This does not mean that the front-bar threads are necessarily elongated to four times their normal length during the knitting of the fabric, but takes into account the front-bar threads being floated over a number of the courses for each cycle of the pattern wheel. By actual measurement, the

4length of Veach of the front-bar threads 24 that isfed for one cycle of the sixteen-move pattern wheel is from fourteen to sixteen inches and the length of each of the back-bar threads 23 that is fed for each cycle is fifty-six inches which is in the ratio of approximately one to four and the front-bar threads 24 are floated over ten courses in each sixteen courses of the fabric.v

The feeding of the front-bar threads 24 in this relation to the back-bar threads 23 may be accomplished by suitable adjustment ofthe tension on the front-bar threads as they are fed. The inherent resiliency of elasticity of ordinary nylon yarns permit them to be stretched to meet the above requirements as they are being knit and make them particularly suitable for this purpose. I

.As previously mentioned, the difference in the lengths of the front-bar-threads 24 and the backbar threads 23 causes the Wales and the courses of the fabric to be drawn together when it is released from the needles and produces a marked effect on the sheerness and texture of the fabric. It not only gives the fabric a filmy or misty appearance, but is also gives the fabric a crepelike texture-or feel. Contrary to what might be expected, this drawing of the stitches together does not interfere withy themanner in which the fabric drapes or hangs when suitably 1inished. vbut conversely gives the fabric a better body and handle so that it hangs and drapes more gracefully than it otherwise would.

It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention illustratedv and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as deflned by the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A knit nylon fabric having a filmy transparency and a crepe-like texture comprising threads knit in connected loops forming wales and courses of a background, and threads knit with the background threads at spaced groups of wales in spaced series of courses of the background and floated across courses intervening between the respective series of courses, the number of said intervening courses being at least equal to the number of courses in each series and the normal length of said second-mentioned threads being less than half the length of the background threads knit in all of said courses.

2. A fabric knit of nylon threads which has a filmy transparency and a crepe-like texture comprising nylon threads knit in connected'loops forming Wales and courses of a background, and nylon threads knit with said background threads at spaced groups of Wales in a series of courses of the background, said last-mentioned threads being floated diagonally across a number of wales and courses to asecond group of wales and a second series of courses of the background at 'which said threads areknitfsaid second series of courses being spaced from the rst series of courses, the normal length 'of said second-mentioned threads knit in the first series of courses andj extending to the second series of courses being less than half the normal length of the background threads knitijn allof said courses.

3. A fabric knit of nylon threads which has a fllmy transparency and a crepe-like texture'comprising threads knit in connected loops forming wales and courses of a background, and threads knit with said background threads at spaced groups of wales in three consecutive courses of the background, said last-mentioned threads being floated diagonally across three wales and five courses to a second series of three consecutive courses at which said second-mentioned threads are knit, the normal length of said second-mentioned threads knit in the first series of three courses and floated across the five courses being in the neighborhood of one-quarter the normal length of the background threads knit in all of said courses.

4. A fabric knit of nylon threads which has a filrny transparency and a crepe-like texture comprising threads knit in connected loops forming wales and courses of a background, and threads knit with said background threads at spaced groups of wales in three consecutive courses of the background, said last-mentioned threads being floated diagonally in one direction across three wales and five courses to a second series of three courses at which said threads are knit and then being floated diagonally in the opposite direction across three wales and five courses to the first-mentioned groups of wales in a third series of threescourses, the normal length of said secend-mentioned threads knit in and floated between said series of courses'being in the neighborhood of one-quarter the normal length of the background threads knit in all of said courses.

5. A knit fabric of the tricot type having a filrny transparency and a crepe-like texture wherein threads of a resilient material such as nylon are knit on both sides of the fabric `comprising threads knit on one side of the fabric in connected loops forming wales and courses in the fabric, said threads traversing one Wale in opposite directions in successive courses of the fabric, and threads knit with said background threads on the other side of fabric, said second-mentioned threads being knit at spaced groups of Wales in spaced series of consecutive courses of the fabric and being floated across a number of courses intervening between the respective series of consecutive courses, the length of said second-mentioned threads knit in said series of consecutive courses and floated over the intervening courses being less than one-half the length of the firstmentioned threads knit in all of said courses.

6. A knit fabric of the tricot type having a fllrny transparency and a crepe-like texture as defined in claim 5 wherein the second-mentioned threads traverse one Wale in a direction opposite to the direction in which the first-mentioned threads traverse in the series of consecutive courses in which said first-mentioned threads are knit.

7. A knit fabric of the tricot type having afllmy transparency and a crepe-like texture as defined in claim 5 wherein the second-mentioned threads traverse one Wale in a direction opposite to the direction in which the first-mentioned threads traverse in the series of consecutive courses in on one sideof the fabric at all of the needles in.

connected loops forming wales and coursesfof the fabric, and'simultaneously feeding andA knitting threads of a reesilient material vsuch asnylon'on the other side of the fabric at spaced groups of needles in spaced series of courses and floating said last-mentioned threads across courses intervening between said series of courses, said lastmentioned threads being fed at one-fourth the rate at which said first-mentioned threads are fed.

9. The method of knitting a flat fabric comprising the steps of feeding and knitting threads on one side of the fabric in connected loops forming wales and courses in the fabric, and simultaneously feeding and knitting threads of a resilient material such as nylon on the other side of the fabric at spaced groups of needles in spaced series of courses and floating said last-mentioned threads across courses intervening between said spaced series of courses, said last-mentioned threads being traversed in opposite directions across a number of wales between the alternate series of courses in which said threads are knit and being fed at one-fourth the rate at which said first-mentioned threads are fed.

10. IThe method of knitting a flat fabric which includes the steps of feeding and knitting threads on one side of the fabric at'all of the-needles in connected loops forming Wales and courses of the fabric, and simultaneously feeding and knitting threads of a resilient materialsuch as nylon on the other side of the fabric at spaced groups of needles in spaced series of courses and floating said last-mentioned threads across courses intervening between said series of courses, said lastmentioned threads being fed at less than one-half the rate at which said first-mentioned threads are fed.

11. A knit fabric having a illmy transparency and a crepe-like texture comprising kthreads of nylon knit in connected loops, said loops forming a background having wales and courses running throughout the fabric, and nylon threads knit with the backgroud threads at spaced groups of Wales and in spaced series of courses, said lastmentioned threads being floated across the face of the background between each series of courses in which said last-mentioned threads are knit and forming design areas on the background, the length of said last-mentioned threads being less than half the length of the background threads in the fabric. v

l2. A flat-knit fabric having a lmy transparency and a crepe-like texture which comprises a background consisting of nylon threads knit in connected loops forming wales and courses runing throughout the fabric, said background being normally sheer and transparent in appearance and design areas formed on one face of said background, said design areas consisting of nylon threads knit with the background threads in spaced groups of wales and in spaced series of courses of the background and being floated across the face of the background between said spaced series of courses, the total length of said design area threads being .approximately one- 7 fourth the length of the background threads Number forming the fabric. 2,130,655 Y EDWARD J. SLATER. 2,199,449 2,289,302 REFERENCES CITED 5 2,323,396 The following references are of record in the 2376346 le of this patent.: 2,500,759

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 10 Number 1,993,766 Welch et a1.- Mal. 12, 1935 226,299 2,019,258

Holmes Oct. 29, 1935 8 Name Date' Schonfeld Sept. 20, 1938 Schonfeldl May 7, 1940 Bradshaw July 7, 1942 Hayto et al. July 6, 1943 Getaz May 15, 1945 Largman Mar. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great; Britain Dec. 24, 1924 

